Somehow, The Countryside is Different: Route Ran 4

Somehow, The Countryside is Different: Route Ran 4

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Commissioned by Shaderic and Arksoul

Wordcount: 5000

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Unfortunately, in my world, people born with power don’t get super-cool weapons grafted onto their souls powered by super-op Dragons.

People in my world born with powers tended to die gruesome deaths, since they’re more likely to discover something they shouldn’t.

Such as Youkai.

Most people take a look at folk tales and think they’re cute, but I see them for what they truly are: compendiums of advice born from a lot of people dying. All the information that’s reached the digital age came forth from a ludicrous number of deaths, so many deaths that warnings needed to be told to people since their birth.

If you don’t do the opposite of this protagonist, you’re going to die like this protagonist.

Stay in your village, don’t approach rivers alone, and never travel through forests in small groups.

A lot of people say that Youkai are fictional, and that the tales were made to protect against the odd accident that happened way back when due to stupidity. While I’m sure more than a few idiots were saved from river rapids, or starving to death in the forest, the fables probably saved tons more people from Youkai than random idiots being idiots.

But I’m digressing from the point.

Both Yukinoshita and Yuigahama knew about Youkai, but they didn’t have any natural inclination towards it. In fact, I wasn’t sure why they joined my club after I decided to make it. I thought it’d be a good laugh and a half to have, until it’d make me sad when it was disbanded without any other people. They put things together on their own, after listening to my lectures and participating in our club activities, and now they were relatively safe with a Youkai wandering around Chiba.

The same couldn’t be said for Orimoto.

Generally speaking, in tales like this, Orimoto was the protagonist talent and that “something” that Youkai wanted.

Or, to be more specific, what Youkai wanted gone.

Even with Youkai being pretty powerful, humans still happened to be humans. The average Youkai is “only” superhuman, and they’re not going to be able to handle a whole town of angry villagers with a person who can point them out at the head. That’s only gotten worse with how times have changed, and how humans have gotten relatively stronger with the progression of technology, so they were out to kill anyone who could spot them without any hesitation.

For Youkai outside of Gensokyo, making sure that individuals who could see them ceased to exist was a matter of course, even if they were the migratory type who didn’t stay too long in any city.

And, now, we had a Youkai in Chiba that was potentially dangerous, and Orimoto might stumble across it without knowing how to deal with it.

Naturally, despite my burning desire not to be involved with my middle school crush, I had to protect her.

That meant either teacher her, or dealing with the problem and making it no longer a problem.

Unfortunately, the latter wasn’t in my reach, since all our efforts to track it were failing.

So, we had to train Orimoto and make sure that she could protect herself… and tell her that her dreams of having a normal life was over.

That wasn’t going to be fun.

Huh?

What’s that?

Shouldn’t I enjoy doing that to her?

Absolutely not.

I might be an asshole, but I’m not freaking evil!

…

Ran did the explaining, while I cooked some dinner.

Komachi had friends and was pretty popular, so when I hinted that I needed privacy, she called me an idiot, nitwit, and a Hachimna before telling me to have fun and waving goodbye.

So, the house was ours for quite a while, since the corporate quarter was ending and it crunch where my parents worked.

Corporate culture was shit, but I had to admit it had its advantages.

Such as telling a highschool girl that magic was real and that she needed to be scared of every shadow for the rest of her life.

Thanks, corporate culture.

Ran was just about finished with the basic gist of things by the time I served us all curry. While I could’ve made something better, given all my time spent in the kitchen, I found that heavier foods stopped Ran from being too “active” after meals. Lighter, delicious meals had the opposite effect and got her ready really fast, while I was achieving some success at making inari sushi, I couldn’t exactly serve it for the three of us.

So, beef curry with rice was the best that I could do… while hoping that Ran finished her plate and didn’t just take bites.

“So, Orimito-san, do you have any questions?” I overheard most of the conversation from the kitchen. It was mostly about the existence of magic, Youkai, and how Gensokyo came to be and why she was in danger. There was a lot of things that needed to be clipped and condensed, and we barely mentioned the Hakurei shrine, but we had certain time limits and we needed to take care of things. It was better the handle the situation at hand completely, before doing anything more thorough. The abridged version would have to suffice until none of us were likely to just freaking die. “Is there anything in particular that you do not understand and wish to be clarified?”

“Ummm, yeah… why me?” Orimoto’s scratched her cheek, while I took a seat at the table. I took a moment to glance over my shoulder and make sure that the stove was off, before digging into my meal and considering Orimoto’s question. It was a good question. Why did it happen to her? I had some talent thanks to being very vaguely related to the Hakurei, but Orimoto looked over her family records and found nothing. “I’ve checked and there’s no weird accidents in my family, so it’s not like I have ancestors who were like me. And, I’m not related to anyone who works in a shrine.”

That was the first question anyone normal would ask.

Orimoto and I weren’t alike.

She wanted to be normal, while I wanted to be abnormal.

“Some humans are simply born as such due to the whims of fate.” Ran shook her head and took a measured bite, nodding, chewing, and swallowing. “It is a rare occurrence. One in tens of thousands, and perhaps more with less and less Youkai traversing the land. You were simply born this was… and you’ve only found out because you’ve interacted with us.”

Before any fault could be pinned on us, I was quick to point something out.

“If there wasn’t any danger in Chiba, we’d have just messed with your head a little, and made you think you had a weird dream.” We could technically erase memories, but in this day and age, it was harder to pull off if someone looked deeply. Hell, making Orimoto think it was a dream was only possible because I didn’t have any presence in social media. Hooray for me being to lazy to be involved in society’s latest trainwreck! “You’d have gone on with your life never seeing another Youkai again… unfortunately that’s not the case. You’re in danger now.”

“Right. The rogue, dangerous Youkai in Chiba.” Orimoto grimaced and picked at her curry. Thankfully, when she didn’t make any faces when she took a bite, I let loose a breath. It wasn’t terrible and that was good enough for me. Hooray for mediocrity. “So, you’ll teach me to protect myself, and come to me if I see it.”

“Correct. That is all that you must do. In fact, if you do not wish to pursue your power, you need only do so for a few weeks, until we complete our investigation, and then you may forget all about it for the rest of your life.” Ran gave Orimoto a small smile and a thoughtful nod. It was a good deal for someone with Orimoto’s mindset. You’re in danger for a few weeks, do what we tell you for those few weeks, and then you’ll never have to deal with it again. Good stuff all around. “Unless your powers become more cultivated, or grow any more over the years, it will be incredibly rare for you to ever meet another Youkai again.”

Honestly, I expected Orimoto to sigh in relief at those words. The happy-go-lucky girl that I knew in middle school was the sort of person who’d do just that and move on with her life.

But Orimoto’s frown only deepened.

“But… what about my kids? And their kids?” Orimoto was thinking ahead. This wasn’t just an issue for her, but the future of her family. If she did forget about it in the future, if she did nothing more than sign this moment off as a weird moment in her life, what about her children and those who might inherit her ability. “They won’t be protected by you or Hachiman. They’ll just… come across a Youkai and die?”

Ran looked uncomfortable with the questions, so I decided to step up to the plate as the boyfriend.

“The chances of that happening is low. Youkai are dying out outside of Gensokyo and a few other, weird places in the world. They’ll be in less and less danger the more time passes. Your kids’ll be safer than you.” I told her the facts that a Youkai would struggle to say. Humanity was taking over the rest of the world and squeezing the Youkai into secluded areas. “Make sure to live in a city, and I guarantee that they’ll be safe forever, and never realize what their power is. It should’ve been the same for you, but you just got unlucky.”

In all likelihood, there are a lot of people in the world who can see the supernatural, since it was an evolutionary advantage that led to survival more often than not. It’s a trait that’s been passed down for quite a long time, and there’s a lot more humans in the world now than there’s ever been before. They never saw anything supernatural because the supernatural doesn’t want to be involved with humans any more than it has to, especially with humanity as strong as it currently was.

Orimoto was simply, truly unlucky and in all likelihood her descendants were just going to have normal lives because they were less unlucky than her.

“So, don’t think about them. Choose for yourself now. Be selfish because this situation is just about you.” A part of me approved of how far she was thinking, but sometimes looking too far into the big picture fucked up the smaller one. It paid off in dividends to not give a fuck about anyone else beside yourself sometimes. A lot of people needed to acknowledge that being perfect was impossible and trying to be perfect could get you killed. “Orimoto, you need to keep yourself safe, that’s all you need to do.”

I spoke from experience, after dealing with tons of people who could destroy me with an afterthought, even with Ran beside me and backing me up. My employer tended to piss off a lot of powerful people, because she was in a league of her own and didn’t have to care about anything, after all. It was much the same for future generation surrounded by more humans and better technology. They’ll be stronger, more numerous, and be a bigger threat to all Youkai in the future. If the situation went to shit, I entrusted it entirely to my boss to deal with, and Orimoto needed to entrust the future with the problems she couldn’t handle herself.

Orimoto was silent for quite a while after I spoke, until she sat straighter, sniffed, and gave a nod while dragging the plate of food towards her and started eating.

I didn’t expect an answer from her just yet, but it was a good sign that she was eating and taking care of herself.

Judging from the bags beneath her eyes, she had trouble sleeping last night, due to all her worries.

…

Ran rested her head on my shoulder, while I flipped through channels on the television. We still had an hour until Komachi returned, and Orimoto was taking time to practice making talismans on her own, so we had some private time for ourselves.

Private time that didn’t involve fornication too, so we were both treading somewhat unfamiliar territory.

Or, at least, I thought that it was unfamiliar until Ran started talking.

“I believe that we should talk to Hakurei-san about this issue, and that Orimoto-san would be better served by becoming a Shrine Maiden.” Ran spoke calmly and clearly, as she usually did whenever our opinions on something differed. “She is right to worry about her future children and children’s children. They will be better served, if they are protectors and guardians of humanity.”

We had different views on things, and that was perfectly natural, because we were both different people with different ideas. It made our partnership strong, since we could work together to handle problems we couldn’t solve alone. My stances and beliefs were good for some occasions, while hers were better for some, and when we worked together there was hardly anything that could stop us short of indiscriminate stupid and firepower.

Unfortunately, there was a lot of that in Gensokyo.

But in cases like this one?

Yeah, we made a point to discuss things thoroughly.

This was about Orimoto’s life and future after all.

“If she was more enthusiastic about things, I’d have suggested that, but you saw her yourself. She was afraid and looking to pin the blame on something. She wasn’t exactly volunteering for the position.” I gave my own views on the situation. Orimoto hadn’t been holding back any giddiness or joy when we spoke to her. She was worried, fearful, and nearly in denial about the supernatural. None of that screamed “willing to commit to a Shrine Maiden life forever.” “Sure, it’d be better for her descendants, but what about her? She deserves to have a say in her life, too.”

“A fair point, but isn’t it too selfish of her? Her gift is strong. It will most likely pass onto her children, which she wishes to have. She can protect her future, instead of merely her present.” Ran countered my argument with ease, as I settled on some Precure. My Kitsune girlfriend narrowed her gaze at the transformation scene and switched channels to some nature documentary. Boring. I went back to channel surface. “She brought this matter up herself. She searched her own family line. She fears for them, Hachiman, so should we not pressure her towards alleviating those fears?”

I won’t lie.

Ran and I had completely different modes of operation.

I’m a minimalist at heart, so I always just do what’s necessary in order to achieve my goals. I read the room, take in the situation, and do my best to get to the goal with as little wasted effort and resources as possible. Compromise, bullying, and even intimidation were all techniques that I gladly utilized in order to fulfill my goals.

Ran, meanwhile, sought out the best possible solution, even if that meant a steeper cost in the end. Yakumo made her to be her opposite, someone with morals, active, and capable, as to balance her out when they’re together. Ran came off as the good cop whether the two were together, while Yakumo was the loose-cannon.

And, that worked for the two of them, but it wouldn’t work for the two of us.

They were two ends of different extremes, while I was in the middle of the road. Both were closer to me with their respective ideals than one another, but without a doubt I was equally as far from the both of them because of my place in the middle.

In short, I brokered compromises with the two… and on occasion met with Ran halfway out of necessity.

In this case, when it was also obvious that Orimoto wasn’t going to be satisfied with just leaving things up to chance later in life. My solution was like a band-aid on a small-looking wound. It might heal and work out fine later, but if something went wrong, taking it off my reveal a deeper, infected wound with more problems than it had in the beginning.

That is to say, if something DID happen in the future, as unlikely as it would’ve been… then there was no way I wouldn’t regret making my proposal.

So, I sighed and moved on.

“Okay, but we can’t just intimidate her into giving up her life. There has to be a halfway point. A compromise.” I leaned forward and turned off the TV. “She and her kids have to be able to protect themselves against regular Youkai. Nothing more than that.”

Only freaks of nature like Hakurei could hope to handle the strongest Youkai without battling an eyelash. Kirisame was somewhere in the same league, if you gave her time to prepare and pissed her off enough, but for the most part humans were jut better off knowing Youkai tricks, not falling for it, and being prepared to fight. Training up a person to be on par with the likes of Remilia Scarlett was a waste of time.

“… I see. That would be reasonable way to do things, especially as it allows Orimoto-san the ability to respond and protect herself actively.” Ran crossed her arms and frowned. She wasn’t pleased with my statement, but she didn’t dislike it either. It was a compromise, after all. Neither of us liked it, but it was something we could both accept. “She can join you in the upcoming summers, and we can train her in what is necessary, as we’ve done for you.”

“Sounds good.”

I thought that was the end of that conversation, and that Ran would sigh and start thinking, but I knew here well enough to see that wasn’t the case.

Courtesy of the cute pout on her face and how she twirled her hair around her finger.

“Hachiman-kun… you’re not attracted to her anymore right?” Ran addressed the issue directly without dancing around it, so even though my heart rate was accelerating from her cuteness, I was able to hear her loud and clear. A blush spread across her face as she spoke, but I took that in stride as well. “Ummm, I know it’s strange of me to ask but—

“It’s not. You’re worried and I can make you not worried.” Guh. The sound of my own voice made me cringe. It was like listening to someone without a spine. While I didn’t mind treating Ran like a princess, I didn’t exactly like hearing or seeing myself to do it. So, I focused as much as I could on my cute, jealous girlfriend whose face was completely red. “My crush on Orimoto came and went when she rejected me years ago. The only woman I’m interested in romantically is you now.”

I winced a little as Ran’s eyes narrowed a little.

Both out of fear and how interesting a little ferocity made a blush.

Calm down, Hachiman Jr., it’s not time for that.

“Interested in romantically… what didn’t you say ‘the only woman I’m looking at,’ Hachiman?” Ran’s words were a little icy. I must’ve underestimated how afraid she was of Orimoto, especially since she was so willing to help her. I was kinda glad that I did, since I really, really liked what I was seeing from my girlfriend. It made me feel wanted. Man, I really have issues, huh? “Hm?”

“Because I’m not a liar. Sometimes my eyes look and I appreciate instinctually, even when I try not to.” I told Ran the truth. My eyes wandered, and my instincts flared up. It happens even when I try to stop it. That was the truth and nothing but the truth. “I’m doing my best to stop, or at stop when I do notice, but it happens. I stare… but it’s just looking. Nothing more.”

Now, I would’ve been worried if Ran didn’t accept my words. Even though I knew her for a long time, and couldn’t see her reacting that way, I worried about it nonetheless. I had certain lines in mind for whatever relationships I had. One of them was being my own person and having a spine. I wasn’t going to justify ogling other woman, let alone thinking of pursuing someone else while with Ran, but glancing and looking instinctually?

I wasn’t going to apologize every time that happened out of my control.

Thankfully, as per usual, Ran took our dialogue somewhere far lewder than I expected as she draped herself over me and clung to me.

“Who did you look at? Tell me. I can be better than them.” Her voice was husky while her arms wrapped around my neck and as on of her legs came over my both of my own. The warmth of her body and her softness reminded me she wore nothing beneath the tracksuit she currently wore. Yes. Indeed. My girlfriend was naked under her clothes. “Younger. Fulller. Thinner. More mature… I can be any Ran you want me to be, Hachiman-kun.”

Normally, this was where I held her off and exercised my right to hold back, but something about her words and jealousy was making my heart race, which in turn allowed my libido to continue beating my logic and sensibility up.

Because she’d listened to what I told her before, and was using that to her advantage.

I couldn’t allow her to use other people’s faces and bodies for our… activities… but the thought of Ran not only in different outfits, but with different forms…

It hit a lot harder than I expected, so I barely managed to take control of the situation.

“There’s no time. We’ll be together later.” I met her smoldering gaze with the coldest glare I could muster, and cursed lightly when her breathing got a little faster at my glare. Dammit, my girlfriend is too dang lewd! She’s getting more in the mood the more I tell her to stop! “Ran. Komachi is coming home soon. You won’t be satisfied… and I’m not going to risk her stumbling on us.”

I almost sighed in relief when Ran froze at Komachi’s name, and as she withdrew from me with wide eyes and other… excited areas.

Still, I froze as I stood up, as she took hold of my sleeve with an iron grip and prevented me from leaving.

“I won’t let you run away tonight, Hachiman~.”

Thanks to those sweet, sultry words Ran was smiling the entire night before bed, while I cursed my own discipline.

Truly, Hikigaya Hachiman is the natural enemy of all Hikigaya Hachimans.

…

A week passed and I expected it to be the same since Ran arrived.

We go through the motions at school, ignore the rumors, and conduct research on the way home after touching base with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama. Orimoto would come by to show off her training and get corrections when necessary. She took to the plan of going to Gensokyo to learn more every summer very well and got more cheerful thereafter. Finally, of course, Ran and I were going to spend ludicrous amounts of time doing lewd things.

And by ludicrous, I mean I haven’t touched Vita-chan in weeks and barely have time to do homework and chores.

Anyway, as expected, my expectations were thoroughly destroyed the first day of the week as Yukinoshita revealed a broken seal to us from the region of Chiba she was monitoring for any signs of activity.

“It was near the hiking trails. Yuigahama-san covered the city, while I created a perimeter.” Yukinoshita took the map of Chiba we had and took several tacks. With Yuigahama’s help she marked both the locations they went to and created a good perimeter around the entirety of Chiba. She looked at but me and Ran, and we both complied with her request before she said a word. Yep, she was going to be a fearsome politician one day. “As I expected of you, Hikigaya-kun, you took your girlfriend to all of Chiba’s famous locations.”

Ran blushed, but I had a counter ready.

“Naturally. That’s what boyfriends do when their girlfriends visit.” Shame? What was that? Did it taste good? Because it’s been so long since I felt it that I really can’t remember it any longer, especially since I have a blonde Kitsune girlfriend. Trust me, Yukinoshita, if you had what I have… you wouldn’t have any shame either. “Why would I take her to shitty tourist traps? I wanted to show her the real Chiba, y’know?”

Yukinoshita glared at me and gave off a little “hmph,” while Yuigahama looked away a little sadly.

Ran elbowed me in the ribs and gave me a glare.

Right.

I need to be nicer to them.

Things were currently unresolved because none of us had the nerves to do anything, but I intended to keep the few friends I had outside of Gensokyo.

Eventually, I mean, I wasn’t ever going to see them again.

Aww, jeez, I just made myself really sad.

Moving on.

“Ran can you check on all the seals?” Manually checking on the seals on a route was the best way to go about things, since it wouldn’t let our unwanted guest think that they were being tracked down by someone with skill and magic. The element of surprise was important outside of Gensokyo, since Danmaku wasn’t enforced by the world’s stingiest Miko. “You can do that with the map, right?”

“Yes. It is a fine medium, especially with the excellent work Yukinoshita-san and Yuigahama-san put in.” Ran complimented and smiled at the two with ease. I had to wonder why she worried about Orimoto and not my two clubmates. Was it because I latched onto her so strongly after middle school? She was only really worried about girls that came before that point? If so… that was really, really cute, as expected of Ran. “Give me a moment… and…. There.”

Magic flowed for a moment over all the pins, and then the next moment they all came alight… and began to go out one by one.

Until we had a solid perimeter with a slightly-filled in center that showed a path inside it.

We narrowed down the trail from all of Chiba to a far smaller, more manageable section.

“A fantastic start and we can continue to tighten the noose.” Yukinoshita eyed the map for a moment, before taking out her phone and taking a picture of it just like Yuigahama and myself. Yes, Yukinoshita, our memories are that of shitty humans and not of Youkai. Also… noose? Just what were you planning on doing to the poor Youkai that has trespassed on your territory, ojou-sama? “Yuigahama-chan, would you like to come with me later to lay some seals? We can visit the few places in Chiba Hikigaya-kun hasn’t dragged Yakumo-san to.”

“Ah… yes! Let’s do that, Yukinon!” Yuigahama gave her a bright smile that blinded me from merely being close, and made Yukinoshita wince. Too bright, Yuigahama! Your joy over being given a way to avoid me is too bright! Please be considerate about my feelings, even though I’m a shitty guy who doesn’t have the guts to turn you down properly, even after seeing your feelings. I swear I’ll do it before summer. This isn’t going to last until next semester, I swear! “I’ll go tell my friends about it now!”

Yuigahama took her bag and scampered off, but when she reached the door she stopped for a second… and did her best to smile at me too.

“See you later, Hikki!”

With that shining smile, she fled from my presence without another word.

Yukinoshita stood up a moment later with a shake of her head.

Even though she could’ve said anything and been forgiven for it, Yukinoshita stayed her sharp tongue and simply gathered up her own things.

“I will see you tomorrow, Hikigaya-kun. Have a nice day, and please stay safe.” Yukinoshita gave a small nod towards me, and gave a small bow Ran’s way. “Please take care of him, Yakumo-sama.”

Yukinoshita staggered at the traditional words for a second, but kept moving forward nonetheless.

Out of the three of us, she was without a doubt the most mature, and was waiting on the two of us to catch up.

She was good friend to have.

I started rifling through my pockets for the keys to lock the room, before Ran’s hand suddenly gripped my shoulder.

“Hachiman-kun… if you’re holding back for my sake… please don’t. They’re both good girls who deserve to move on quickly.” Ran bit her lower lip and looked… hesitant for the first time I’d ever seen her. So, she did see them as a threat, but was just hiding that fact from me. She thought that I knew, even though the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. “Please, be sure to let them move on properly, okay?”

“I will. Soon. I’m preparing for it myself.” I answered Ran as honestly as I could, and reached over to wrap my arm on her shoulder. For a moment, we just stood together in an empty classroom together, in a clubroom I’d hardly used since Ran came. Despite everything good that happened to me in the past couple weeks, I missed the time we spent together. The sooner we got rid of the uneasy feelings we had together, the sooner we could return to spending time together, and enjoying discovering and learning the truth of the world. “I want to do it properly and without any mistakes. They deserve that, Ran.”

Ran leaned her head on my shoulder and we stayed together in silence for a bit.

“Yes, they do. They truly do for being so good to you, Hachiman-kun.”